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Golf Mill Shopping Center
' Center' is a shopping mall located at 239 Golf Mill Center in Niles, IL, United States. The shopping center has a gross leasable area of 1.1 million square feet. It is managed by Sterling Retail Services. It borders the intersections of Golf Road (Illinois Route 58), Milwaukee Avenue (Illinois Route 21) and Greenwood Avenue. The shopping center has over 100 specialty shops, five department stores (JCPenney, Sears, Target, Kohl's and Ross Dress For Less), an AMC Theatres, two grocery stores (Shop & Save Market, Gordon Store), an XSport Fitness , a 9-story office tower and other outparcels. Opening Day Golf Mill opened to the public in October 1960 as an open-air mall and featured an office tower (designed by Chicago architect Edo Belli to look like the top of a golf ball) and Sears. It featured a "mill" theme, complete with ponds, bridges, and a working waterwheel. Soon after opening, a Lord's department store was built, but closed after a few years and was replaced by JCPenney. Around that time, the Mill Run Playhouse was built at the north end of the complex. It wasn't connected to the mall corridors proper. Renovations And Additions Renovations came to the mall in 1986, with the north end being demolished and rebuild as an enclosed portion anchored by Mainstreet and enclosing the mall between the Sears and JCPenney. The renovations and new north wing containing a MainStreet also added a food court. In 1989, MainStreet became Kohl's. In 1998, a Target was built near Kohl's. General Growth Properties took over management of Golf Mill Shopping Center in 1994. Value City Furniture was added in 2005. In 2007, GGP remodeled the mall, installing new flooring, a new facade, lighting, and entrances, but only in part of the mall. The remodel brought a 12-screen Kerasotes movie theater. In 2010, Kerasotes ShowPlace 12 was acquired by AMC. Circuit City which opened in 1990 and located outside the mall closed in 2009 when the chain fell into Bankruptcy. After a turn of events with General Growth Properties, Milwaukee Golf Management Corporation took over management of Golf Mill Shopping Center that same year. Gordon Food Service opened outside of the mall to customers in July 2011. Ross Dress for Less opened in 2012. Sterling Organization purchased Golf Mill Shopping Center in August 2014 via a private equity fund, and its subsidiary, Sterling Retail Services is currently managing the property on behalf of the fund. Ten Years later from the 2007 renovation, the mall has added Panera outlet building across the main entrance. The mall is currently undergoing another renovation that includes demolishing the left portion of the mall's food court and turning it into a 10,000 square feet Ulta Beauty Store. Ulta Beauty opened during the fall of 2017. The dining options that were on the former food court are now being relocated near the AMC showplace. Sterling has announced that more retailers will be coming soon to the mall. On October 4, 2018, it was announced that Sears would be closing as part of a plan to close 12 stores nationwide. The store will close in December 2018.